Board games have been an integral part of entertainment in many cultures since the dawn of civilizations. We see examples of board games like “snakes and ladder” and chess in both Indian and Egyptian settlements of yesteryear.
But as Covid-19 came on raging, people started to get fonder of the nostalgia that came with board games. Being an intergenerational phenomenon, everyone has played a game at one point or the other. Therefore 2020 saw an exponential increase in the sale of board games.
Here is a step-by-step guide as to how you can start your own board game business and rake in profits while they are selling like hotcakes.
Planning
A plan is essential for any business to take off. It sets your goals and helps you decide on a vision for your future empire. You should figure out the start-up costs at this point and do some market research on your target market.
You should also see what your competitors are charging and if you can price it competitively without affecting margins. You should also spend a lot of time looking at the price range in which your product will sell.
Starting a board game business does not require a lot of capital as compared to other businesses and you should be fine with $20-25k. These prices can go lower or higher depending on how your market and roll out the product.
Your biggest expenses in the starting are trademarking the game and applying for copyright, getting the artwork done, and then manufacturing the game. The cost of manufacturing drops as you place an order for large quantities.
Legal Aspects
Some of the most common types of business types are either sole proprietorship, partnership, or limited liability company (LLC), or corporation. If you register as an LLC or even a corporation then you will not be held liable if someone sues your board game company. LLC costs are costs, and we highly recommend registering as such. You can have either the basic services or get some of the best LLC services at a modest additional charge.
Taxes
When opening a business, it is best to be aware of all the taxes that you will have to pay beforehand itself. Make sure you read all the state and federal taxes that you will have to pay. It is best that you start filing the taxes as soon as possible even if you do not have any income from the business.
This way you remain in the know-how and when the time comes can easily file your taxes. Being on the legal side of the fence is very necessary and taxes make a huge chunk of the legal aspects of your business.
Apply for an EIN for free on the IRS website. This way you can get your number through fax or mail itself. Learn about the small business taxes that you will have to pay.
Dedicated Bank Account And Credit Card
To protect your personal assets, it is important that you have a dedicated credit and banking account. If the business issued your personal assets come under the risk of seizure to avoid this, it is best to open a bank account and credit card.
Business Accounting
Record all of your expenses and the various sources of income so that you can understand the cash flow and financial health of your business. Having detailed accounts of these things can help you prevent future disasters and even save a lot of money in the long run. It also simplifies the annual tax filings that will happen every year.
Permits and licenses
You should know what all permits you need to operate in the area and what license you need to have the business up and running. Take a note of these permits and licenses and make sure you apply for them well in advance. In most cases obtaining a license can be a tedious task and can take weeks to process.
You don’t want to delay your business processions due to licenses being delayed or permits being denied. Get your artwork and logos Trademarked and Copyrighted so that there are no problems in the future.
Business Insurance
Business insurance comes in handy when you want to have some losses covered. It is great for your company’s well-being if something goes wrong. There are many different types of insurance policies for different businesses as all of them have different types of risks. General Liability Insurance is a great place to start for your business coverage needs.
Worker’s Compensation Insurance is also very much necessary for some businesses. It takes care of your employee’s medical needs which is a major expense and also saves you from potential lawsuits.
Branding
Going forward you will need a clear vision as to how you want the brand and how it interacts. You will have to focus on social media presence and public identity that is in line with your goals. A well-defined brand helps you stand out from the competition and also makes business easily identifiable.
After this, you should work on how you can get people to keep returning to your board game. A game might be captivating enough but you need to sell it in such a way that people get excited about it. Bloggers and reviewers are the way to go when it comes to board games. Influencer marketing can get you great results and is the best way to get your product in front of a large audience in a short time span.
Website
The E-commerce side of the board game business has been booming and you should get in on the action. This way you get to expand your business worldwide and get access to other areas easily. It has never been easier to become an overnight success.
Business Phone
Since this is an intergenerational product so people not comfortable with internet transactions will also contact you. This automated process makes it easier for you to make a sale and saves time by automating the majority of the process.
Anything Else?
Of course, there are other things you may need to start a board game business. But those are unique to your needs and situation. Let us just say that the above is the must-have to get your business off the ground properly.